Lord Vicar
Lord Vicar are a doom metal band from Turku, Finland, with other members living in various parts of Europe. Formed by one Kimi Kärki (aka Peter Vicar) in 2007 following the dissolution of Reverend Bizarre, Lord Vicar became Kärki's continuation into doom metal and thus his main musical endeavor. Recruiting the likes of Gareth Millsted (End of Level Boss, Centurions Ghost) and Christian Linderson (Count Raven, Goatess, Saint Vitus) among other established doom musicians, Lord Vicar became a notable doom act and a torchbearer for traditional doom into a new generation. With all four members living in separate parts of the world, each member arranges their own songs and builds together when time allows the band to record or perform live. Since their formation Lord Vicar has managed to release four studio albums among a host of EP and split releases, along with numerous tours and marquee shows all over the world. History Born of a Jackal: Fear No Pain and Signs of Osiris (2007 - 2014) Following the release of Reverend Bizarre's third studio album III: So Long Suckers in June 2007, the Finnish doom trio would disband. Having some material left over and a further interest in doom metal, Kimi Kärki would form a new band based on his stage name Peter Vicar, christening this new project as Lord Vicar.Metal Brothers According to an interview via A Blog in The Northern Sky, Kärki had begun planning the project as far as 2006 once he knew Reverend Bizarre was nearing their end. Kärki would recruit entirely new musicians for this project, including Jim Hunter (October 31, Revelation), Gareth Millsted (The Path Is Clear, Centurions Ghost, End of Level Boss) and Christian Linderson (Terra Firma, Saint Vitus, Goatess). In the same interview with A Blog in The Northern Sky, Kärki would explain how he found his future bandmates: In an interview with Doom-Mantia, Kärki would also explain the influences he would draw from in this new project: With a lineup established and a new bassist replacing Hunter in Jussi "Iron Hammer" Myllykoski (Iron Hammer, Earthbound Machine), Lord Vicar would release their debut EP The Demon of Freedom on 27 March 2008 via I Hate Records. This would build to the band's debut album entitled Fear No Pain on 6 November 2008, gaining positive reviews in the doom scene. Lord Vicar would perform their earliest shows that same month touring alongside The Deep Blue for a string of shows culminating in appearances at at Dawn of Doom and Day of Reckoning.Lord Vicar Facebook Lord Vicar would tour further in support of Fear No Pain with two tours in 2009: An April 2009 with Revelation, Mirror of Deception and Lord of The Grave surrounding an appearance at Doom Shall Rise. The other tour would be in the fall alongside The Gates of Slumber with appearances at Dutch Doom Days and Metal Warning Festival. Further festival appearances going into 2010 would include Hammer of Doom Festival, Jalometalli, Doom Over Vienna, Dawn of Doom and a short UK tour with Alunah. Work would begin on a second record in 2011, following a return to Hammer of Doom and a marquee show in Greece alongside Trouble, Candlemass, Ghost and Hell. The second album would be recorded in between 1st and 26th of August, 2011. Bass, drums, rhythm guitars and vocals were recorded in Red House, Turku, by Danil Venho and Henri Rouvari while engineered by Danil Venho. Acoustic guitars, guitar solos and Mellotron recorded by Kimi Kärki in Hyperborean Lighthouse. Finally it would be mixed by Danil Venho and Lord Vicar, mastered by Joona Lukala and ultimately produced by by the band. Signs of Osiris saw it's release on 31 October 2011 and see praise among the likes of Metal Kaoz (10/10),Metal Kaoz The Sleeping Shaman,The Sleeping Shaman Dr. Doom's Lair,Dr. Doom's Lair Soundi (5/5)Soundi and Temple of Perdition among others.Temple of Perdition Also of note is Peter Vicar, also known as Peter Inverted, chose to go by his real name of Kimi Kärki, as he felt he "didn't need a mask anymore". Lord Vicar would go into 2012 touring with Orchid and Sigiriya, working in appearances at DesertFest London and Roadburn Festival, followed by an appearance at Heavy Days in Doomtown.Last.fm The next year would see a string of mini-tours and other festival appearances such as Stoned From The Underground. Breaking The Circle: Gates of Flesh (2014 - 2017) Aside from occasional and sporadic shows, Lord Vicar would largely go dormant for a time, with Sami Albert Hynninen filling in the live bass role. The band would record at Noise for Fiction in Turku between October 2015 and January 2016, with Millsted and Kärki handling bass duties in the studio. Notably the band would make the album deliberately shorter than previous works, seeking to concentrate on shorter, punchier songs and fit the album on a single vinyl LP. The album itself was also stated to have a loose lyrical theme related to the pleasures and weaknesses of the flesh.To Metal Gates of Flesh would see release on 17 June 2016 via longtime label The Church Within Records. Ultimately Lord Vicar's third effort would see praise from several publications and online review sites such as The Sludgelord,The Sludgelord Metal Temple,Metal Temple Outlaws of The SunOutlaws of The Sun and Metal ManiacMetal Maniac among several others. Upon attaining a new bassist in Rich Jones (The Consultancy), Lord Vicar would perform at several festivals in 2016 and 2017, including Tuska Open Air, Doom Over Karalis, Blowup Festival and Hammer of Doom among others. World Encircled: The Black Powder (2018 - Present) Following sporadic shows, releasing a solo album and at one point even living in the United States,Touch of Evil Kärki would return to Finland and work at Noise For Fiction Studio between February and March 2019. In an interview with Uncivil Revolt, Christian Linderson details that the band lived at the studio quarters for the recording, bringing a genuine "here-and-now" feeling to the recording process.Uncivil Revolt According to drummer Gareth Milsted in an interview with Culture Eater that the original plan was to do another shorter album alongside an EP but was changed to returning to longer albums, with a portion of the material dating back to his and Kärki's early years.Culture Eater Kärki would also confirm that a few riffs were old but the majority of the material was brand new and put together after the release of Gates of Flesh.Crystal Logic In late April of 2019 Lord Vicar would announce their fourth studio album in The Black Powder, along with a tour of Europe supporting the album with Thronehammer as direct support, followed by appearances at Storm Crusher Festival and Hammer of Doom. A music video for the song "Impact" also saw release around the same time.Riff Relevant The Black Powder would see positive reception from several publications such as The Obelisk,The Obelisk Kerrang!Kerrang! and Distorted Sound MagazineDistorted Sound Magazine among several others. Discography Studio Albums *'Fear No Pain' (2008, The Church Within Records) *'Signs of Osiris' (2011, The Church Within Records) *'Gates of Flesh' (2016, The Church Within Records) *'The Black Powder' (2019, The Church Within Records) Other Releases *'The Demon of Freedom' (EP) (2008, I Hate) *'Lord Vicar / Griftegård' (Split with Griftegård) (2011, Van Records) *'Lord Vicar / Funeral Circle' (Split with Funeral Circle) (2011, Eyes Like Snow) *'Lord Vicar / Revelation' (Split with Revelation) (2011, The Church Within Records) Members Current Members *'Kimi Kärki' - Guitar (2007 - Present) *'Chritus' - Vocals (2007 - Present) *'Gareth Millsted' - Drums (2007 - Present) *'Rich Jones' - Bass (2016 - Present) Former Members *'Jussi Myllykoski' - Bass (2007 - 2016) *'Jim Hunter' - Bass (2007) *'Jari Pohjonen' - Live Drums (2011) *'Sami Albert Hynninen' - Live Bass (2015 - 2016) Tours *'Fear No Pain European Tour' (With The Deep Blue) (2008)Last.fm *'April 2009 European Tour' (With Revelation, Mirror of Deception, Lord of The Grave) (2009) *'Hammer of Damnation' (With The Gates of Slumber) (2009)Last.fm *'Lord Vicar Ireland and UK Mini-Tours' (2010)Last.fm *'Signs of Osiris European Tour' (With Orchid, Sigiriya) (2012)Last.fm *'November 2013 European Tour' (With Purple Hill Witch) (2013)Last.fm *'The Black Powder European Tour' (With Thronehammer) (2019)Lord Vicar Facebook External Links Official Links *Lord Vicar MySpace *Lord Vicar on YouTube *Lord Vicar on Bandcamp *Lord Vicar on Last.fm Archival Links *Review of Gates of Flesh via Angry Metal Guy *Review of Gates of Flesh via Echoes and Dust *Terrorizer Article on Lord Vicar *Sputnik Music page on Lord Vicar References Category:Band Category:Doom Metal Category:Traditional Doom Category:Finland Category:Lord Vicar Category:Peter Vicar Category:Christian Linderson Category:Turku Category:Kimi Kärki